12 



THE AGIMCULTLKAL NEWS. 



April 25, 1902. 



deiiiiiils on tlio ja-oiliice of the soil, liow saddening it is 

 to see that agriculture is still in a hackward state. Tt is 

 true that cultivation is daily extending more ajid more, hut 

 it is [laiuful to see that the average i)lanter is not a hit wiser 

 than his gre<\t grandfather was, and is still ignorant of the 

 .simplest laws of hushandry. The sugar planters and the 

 owners of large cacao estates pay attention to im]>roved 

 methods in tillage, and invoke the aid of .science to tlieir 

 assistance ; Init the peasant jnTijirietors u.sually cultivate 

 their holdings with the greatest disregard to tlie most palpa- 

 ble teachings of agricidtural .science, and for the Tiiost part 

 solely depend on nature for the growth and impinvenieiit 

 of their products. 



With a view to instruct the peo)ile in the elements of 

 Kcientilic husliandry, the Government has introduced the 

 subject of agriculture into the public .schools of the island. 

 This is, indeed, the wisest step which could have been taken 

 towar-ds the welfare of the inhabitants of Trinidad, and to 

 eii^ure the solid [)rogress of this fine Colony. It is to be hojied 

 that the rising generation, in whose interest this has been 

 done, will take advantage of the great boon. 



Ignorance of the noble science of agriculture has hitherto 

 created an aversion for the dignified occupation of the 

 liusbandman. Lot us ho[ie, then, that as this interesting science 

 becomes better known, the people will learn to regard agricul- 

 ture as the most manly profession they can possibly follow.' 



specially im|iorted from the malarious di.striets near IJome ; 

 with the result that an attack of the typical f<iriii of Honiaii 

 fever was induced thcrel>y. 



MOSQUITOES AND MALARIA. 



'riic following extract is taken fr(.>ni Circular No. 

 2-5, issued 1)V the Royal Botanic Gardens, Ceylon: — 



To Laveran (a distinguished Fren"h ])hysician) is given 

 the criidit of having first discovered the micro-organism in 

 the blood of persons suffering from malaria. Mauson, an 

 English dostor fam >us for his studies in tropic.d dissas ^, 

 definitely fornudate.l the theory .suggesting the relation in 

 which the mosquito inight stand towards nrilaria. jMajor 

 Koss of the Inili m Medical Ssrvice, demonstrated the correct- 

 ii:!ss of the theory, which his since been corroborated and 

 amplified by several Italian scientists, notalily by Celli, 

 Gra,ssi, Bignami, and Ficalln. 



It would be ditticult to name any biological discovery 

 that has been worked out more carefully and patiently to its 

 conclu.sion. The development of this micr()sco|)ic blood 

 jiarasite lias been traced,— stage by sfjxgc, — first in the blood 

 of mail, then through the .stomach and tissues of the uuis 

 tpiito, till it reaches such a position that it must inevitably 

 enter the human .systern when next the mosipiito takes its 

 <li-aught of human blood. 



Negative proof of the corroctnes; of the m is-piito theory 

 of infection is afforded by the fact that Doctors Samboii and 

 l,i)\\ li\-ed a whole summer in the deadliest part of the 

 li'oiiiini C'ampagni, escai)ing infection by retiring eacli night 

 into a iiioscjuito-liroof hut. 



Celli made practic.il ex[ieriuiants on railroad employes 

 ill Italy. A certain number of these were protected by the use 

 of mo4i|uito jiroof dwellings, and almost comjiletely avoided 

 the fever which attacked a large mijority of the uniirotected 

 men. 



Positive proof has been provided by the well known case 

 (if llic delibeiate infection of Dr. Manson's son, who permit 

 ted himself to be bitten, in Kngland, liy infected nios(|ni(oes 



DEPARTMENT NEWS. 



Mr. W. C. Fishlock has been appointed by flu- 

 Secretary-of-State, on the recomniendation of thi' 

 Ivnjierial Commissioner of Agriculture lor the West 

 Inciies, Agricultural Instructor for the Virgin Islands, 

 to date from April 1, 1!)02. Mr. Fishlock was trained 

 at the Royal Gardens, Kew, and latterly has lieeri 

 attached to the Gardens at Kensington Palace. Bef(»-e 

 proceeding to the Virgin Islands, Mr. Fishlock is 

 s])eiiding a short time at Dominica in studying tr<ipical 

 planting as carried on in that island. 



Mr. I'^rancis Watts has lately been engagi^d. with 

 Mr. Liint, in taking off' the canes and analysing the 

 jui(re from the Experiment sugar-cane ])!ots in the 

 island of St. Kitts. Tlie residts, which will recpiii-e 

 .somt' tinu' to work out, will be published in the yearly 

 report to appear in the autumn of tiiis year. Mi\ 

 Watts' last report j)ublished in two parts was regarded 

 as a very valuable document. A sunnnary of it 

 ap])eared in Pam|)hlet No. \i of the l)e])artnient 

 Ht'iicH: Scrdlh};/ iiihI uthcr cniWK in Ihc Lccivunl 

 InIiiiuIs 19(10- nin I, 



It is not improbable, though not yet detiniielv 

 settled, that the next West Indian Agricnltuial 

 Confi'rence, in Jaiuiarv 1!)0:^, will assemble at Trinidad. 

 This C'olony is, just now, the most jjrospenms of anv 

 in the West Indies and it offers special features of 

 interest to .scientific and t(^chnical visitoi-s. Sir Alfred 

 Moloney, the Governor, who has for nuiny years taken a 

 dt'i'p jiractical interest in agTicultural develojiment. and 

 left his mark in evi'ry Colony he has administered, is 

 ])repaied to offer a heaity wi'lcome to the iiu'iubers of 

 th(' Conference and to assist in the airangements. 

 Altogether a Conference at Trinidad should be thor- 

 oughly successful and tend to advance the gi'Ueral 

 interest of scientific agricultui'e in thi' West Indies. 



BATS IN HOUSES AND CHURCHES. 



The following note by the Rev. Canon l'"Jlaroiiibi> 

 is contributed to 77/r Cotnitri/. \'oy ^rarch, l!)02:- - 



'In many country houses, ami in many elinrclie.s, bats are 

 an ott'eiisive nui.sance, and it is not easy to get rid of them. 

 I5ut they can be cleared out of any hou.se or Church by 

 following a very simple plan groundeil on a knowledge of 

 tlieir natural hal)its. If there are l>ats in a clnuch, ojien the 

 doors on a fine sunuuer evening about dark ; the bats will go 

 out hawking for insects. In half an hour's time clo.se the 

 doors. Most of the bats will still be outside and unable to 

 get in. Iiepeat this on other evenings, and little by little 

 the bats will be fewer and fewer, and will lind roosting 

 l>laces elsewhere.' 



